Phillips Named Assistant Baseball Coach

Aug 19, 2016

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant baseball program will see another familiar face in the dugout for the 2017 season. Paul Phillips, a former four-year player and a 2014 Covenant graduate, has been named the full-time assistant coach for Doug Simons.

Phillips replaces Ben Wharton, who recently left the program to become the head baseball coach at Chattanooga Christian School.

"Returning to Covenant to serve as the assistant baseball coach is a dream come true," Phillips said. "I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Ben Wharton and to learn from and coach alongside Doug Simons."

"I'm really excited that Paul has decided to come be a part of our staff here at Covenant," Simons said. "His energy, passion and work ethic will be a tremendous asset to our program. Most of all, Coach Phillips is a follower of Christ, who is familiar with our culture and is dedicated to our vision and philosophy as a program."

Phillips comes to Covenant after spending the last two years overseas working in professional baseball. Over the past year, he's coached with The Hit Factory in Singapore working with 14U, 12U, 10U and 8U club teams, while assisting in the development of the game of baseball in southeast Asia.

Prior to coaching, Phillips was a professional player and coach with the semi-pro team Füssen Royal Bavarians in Füssen, Germany. As a player and coach, Phillips was critical to the team's second place finish and a 22-6 overall record in 2015. He led the league in stolen bases, was second in doubles and third in on-base percentage during the season.

Phillips was a member of the baseball program's run to the USA South regular season championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. Phillips played in 122 career games for the Scots and had a career average of .280 to go with 71 runs scored and 45 RBIs. He set the program record for hit-by-pitches in a career with 36 and also holds the program's single-season record with 19 in 2014. As a senior, Phillips hit a career-best .302 with one home run, 22 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .473.

Additionally, Phillips was a two-time conference all-academic honoree and was Covenant's representative on the 2014 USA South All-Sportsmanship team. He was also active with Covenant's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter.

"I look forward to discipling this great group of guys and continuing the Scots tradition of excellence on and off the field," Phillips added. "I hope to be another catalyst for strengthening this team's energy, discipline, and confidence as we compete for a conference championship this year and the seasons to follow."

Phillips graduated from Covenant with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies composed of Sports Management, Business, and Psychology. He and his wife, Emily (Covenant '13), were married in 2014.